Google's Launches Pay-Per-Action; a Threat to Affiliate Networks? — If you're reading this post, then you can expect a flurry of news covering Google's beta launch of its Pay-Per-Action (PPA) product for AdWords. Yep, after years of hinting, Google is finally ready to let us test their platform on a CPA (cost per action) model.

Pay-per-action beta test — Is there a specific action on your site that you want visitors to complete? Do you know how much that action is worth to your business? If so, you may be interested in our pay-per-action beta test. Here's Rob K., Product Manager for Pay-Per-Action, to tell us more:

Now accepting applications for new referrals beta — Many of you already use referrals to direct users to your favorite Google products. Now, with our new referrals beta, you can select products and services from our base of AdWords advertisers. This is good news for those of you who have wanted …

BUBBLE: Alexa error triggers crisis of confidence — Web 2.0 may indeed be waning as a meme, as Crosslink Capital's Peter Rip suggests. Technology evangelists and journalists have probably vented all there is to say about dynamic web pages and online social behavior, the two key ingredients of this round of internet projects.

Game Mag Says Black Xbox 360 Is Coming — Always get an iffy feeling posting black Xbox 360 stories — Especially ones that pop up in April. Yes, we know that the debug unit is black. And yet, the rumor continues to surface. This month's Game Informer says that a black Xbox 360 …

MySpace Restrictions Upset Some Users — Some users of MySpace feel as if their space is being invaded. — MySpace, the Web's largest social network, has gradually been imposing limits on the software tools that users can embed in their pages, like music and video players that also deliver advertising or enable transactions.

John W. Backus, 82, Fortran Developer, Dies — John W. Backus, who assembled and led the I.B.M. team that created Fortran, the first widely used programming language, which helped open the door to modern computing, died on Saturday at his home in Ashland, Ore. He was 82.

Palm Deal in the Final Stretch — A Palm Inc. buyout could be finalized by Thursday this week, demanding $20 or more per share, according to sources close to the situation. Nokia Corp. (NYSE: NOK - message board) is seen as the leading vendor bidder; while Palm's management is said to prefer a private equity buyer.

Personality goes a long way — Whenever I get a new cell phone, the first thing I do is change the background theme. It seems like such a small thing, but for whatever reason adding a beach or a dancing pig or something else makes me feel like it's my own.

Who exactly wrote the first blog — Someone, somewhere created the very first Web log. It's just not quite clear who. — It may not be one of the Internet's grandest accomplishments, but with the number of active bloggers hovering somewhere around 100 million, according to one estimate …

Apple's next-generation iMacs to add a touch of grace — AppleInsider has learned that Apple's popular line of iMac personal computers are about to undergo a substantial facelift that will showcase striking new industrial designs aimed at leaving both competitors and onlookers smitten.

Virtual worlds are 'worth $1bn' — Millions of people are flocking to inhabit virtual online worlds, says research by analysts Screen Digest. — The market for massively multiplayer online games (MMOGs) in the West is now worth more than $1bn (£511m)

Twittering your Home — I had no sooner got finished writing "don't discount twitter. I'll lay odds that it gets hacked into a really useful service before long" in the comments on Nat's twittervision post, in response to the various people saying that twitter was drivel, and who cares …